I started long range hunting coming from the camp of thought that if you couldn't get within 200 yards, you weren't a good hunter. But I had a buck that eluded me for 3 years only to have another hunter get him. In reflection of my close calls, he gave me the slip so many times because he was in an area that 400-600 yards was as close as you could get before he knew you were there and would wait for an opportunity to leave when you couldn't see him. That last year I watched him from a distance do that several times for other hunters as I was trying to learn his secondary escape areas. I hunted those secondary areas only to have a guy kill him in his bed from across the canyon, while I was above the buck waiting for him to move out into the open.
So I decided I was short sighted and that I needed to add distance to my skill set. I committed to learn it and get proficient. It has been a game changer. My equipment is better, my techniques are better, my wind reading is better, I learned reloading, I found great mentors who are now very close friends, and those "impossible" long shots of the past of 400-800+ yards are now one shot kills and 500 and in I have confidence of perfect hits no matter the scenario and conditions.
And best of all, it gives me a reason to shoot year round to learn those conditional factors, spend time with mentors and friends, as well as allowing my scientific side to experiment with different components to find what works best for me and my set ups. Plus that first shot you or someone you are mentoring hits at 1000 is like magic. Hitting steel at 1 mile on a cold bore first shot is an incredible high.
PRS matches are my new challenge and that community is great to spend time with. As well as this forum. And I am grateful for this community and the great advice and wisdom that is shared here. Without those first failed attempts at that Wiley old buck and the other Hunter with the skill set to shoot him, I never would have found all of this.
